Whistle Blowing & Its Importance
A corporate whistleblower is an employee who reports , either verbally and or in writing , to a corporation's senior management and or its officers , any kind of business activity or information that is deemed illegal, dishonest, unethical , and / or breaches statutory laws and regulations....
A corporate whistleblower is an employee who reports , either verbally and or in writing , to a corporation's senior management and or its officers , any kind of business activity or information that is deemed illegal, dishonest, unethical , and / or breaches statutory laws and regulations , for example under the Corporations Act 2001, the Taxation Adminsiation Act 1964 , the Australian Consumer and Competition Laws, the Work Health and Safety Act (2011) and or industry specific laws and regulations.
Corporations and its senior managers have very broad fiduciary and legal obligations in the performance of their duties and need to stringently comply with the relevant corporate, taxation, workplace and / or work health and safety laws.
The Corporations Act 2001 provides significant safeguards for whistleblowers and makes it a criminal offence to victimise an individuals because of a protected disclosure. Recently, the Act was amended to to consolidate and broaden the existing protections and remedies for corporate and financial sector whistleblowers.
Under the Corporations Act whistleblower provisions, a protected disclosure includes information which concerns "misconduct or an improper state of affairs or circumstances" in relation to a regulated entity or of a related body corporate. While misconduct is broadly defined under the Corporations Act to include fraud, negligence, default, breach of trust and breach of duty, the phrase "improper state of affairs or circumstances" has not been defined. However we expect the Federal Court and or Federal Circuit Court to take a very expansive view of the wording and it might covers a very broad range of unethical and unlawful activity.
Furthermore, the Taxation Administration Act 1953, has also created a whistleblower protection regime for disclosures of information by individuals regarding breaches of the tax law or misconduct relating to abusiness's taxation affairs.
Key features of the new whistleblower regime include, but are not limited to:
- The new legislation expands whistleblower protections regarding all Australian companies and gives public and large proprietary Australian companies until 1 January 2020 to introduce a whistleblower policy that is compliant with the new legislation, or else companies may face fines of up to $12,600 ;
- The new legislation has increased penalties for breaches of whistleblower protections, reaching up to $10.5million ;
- It includes a requirement that the whistleblower has objectively reasonable grounds to suspect wrongdoing ;
- Victimisation and compensation provisions apply to protected disclosures made at any time ;
- Disclosures may now be made anonymously ;
- It extends the criteria of wrongdoing that qualifies for protection and sets out who is eligible for whistleblower protection. This expands to employees (current and former), officers, suppliers and their employees, an individual who is an associate of the entity, and family members of any of these eligible people.
The Corporations Act also prohibits detrimental conduct against a whistleblower. Detrimental conduct is conduct that causes detriment to an individual and includes making threats to cause any detriment to an individual such as , dismissal of an employee, injury of an employee in their employment, discrimination between an employee and other employees of the same employer, harm or injury to an individual, including psychological harm and damage to an individual's reputation.
Lately we have sensed a greater determination by employees and middle level management to raise their concerns regarding unethical and unlawful corporate behaviour and conduct.
For example my employer ;
* is not complying with its obligations under the Tax Act, they are paying me cash off the books and not decalring my income ;
* is not paying my superannaution for the last 3 years and I have reguarly asked them to pay it, without any succes ;
* is breaching the Work, Health and Saftey Act, by not providng a safe workplace and or warehouse ;
* is breaching environmental standards through its manufacturing processes and polluting the nearby areas;
* is breaching various accounting and taxation requirements and asking me to cover them up ;
* is trading insolvently and delaying paying its suppliers for up to six months ;
* and its seniors managers are stealing signficicant sums of inventory and stock and selling it to make a profit :
* and my senior manager is getting kick baacks in awarding certain contracts to its favoured suppliers
Indeed we regularly also hear from our many exntensive phone and face to face interviews, " If I speak up I will lose by job, I need my income to maintain my home life, I am fearful to speak up " and our advice has been it is essential you speak up when the corporation's behaviour and conduct , seriously affects consumers, employees, the general public and suppliers , financially and physically.
Please see below further examples of whistleblower behaviour conduct and please contact Connect Legal on 02 9809 7965, speak to Richard and or Jake whenever you have been victimised for legitimately raising your whistle blowing concerns.
This scenario raises circumstances where your employer may be trading insolvent, not paying their expenses and liabilities when they fall due. The Corporations Act provides companies and directors penalties for trading insolvent and as directors they need to execute their fiduciary and legal duties with upmost good faith. In the instance that your employment is terminated because you have exercised your rights not only under the Fair Work Act, but more importantly under the Corporations Act, then there are significant whistle blower protections. Connect Legal and their solicitors are very experienced in this area, undertaking these claims on behalf of its clients in the Federal court and of Federal Circuit Court.
A corporation and its directors / senior managers under the Australian Consumer and Competition Laws 2010 have obligations not to mislead and deceive their customers in relation to the products / services offered. Furthermore each industry has applicable laws and regulations which develop various safeguards that corporations need to comply with. In this instance once again if your employment has been terminated on the ground of redundancy, there has been no consultation and you have raised these whistle blower complaints, then it may be a sham redundancy. If this scenario has occurred to you please contact our office and speak to our experienced solicitors who have pleaded and succeeded on these matters in the Federal Circuit Court.
The Banking Act of 1959 has significant whistle blower protections that protects bank employees from raising serious breaches of the Act. These matters are not simplistic and require indepth interviews and written submissions to highlight the flagrant breaches. Connect Legal its team of solicitors, barristers and paralegal have been very experienced in this area and can safeguard your legal rights when you have legitimately raised banking whistle blower complaints.
We have acted in numerous instances for employees raising whistle blower complaints within the healthcare industry working for public / private hospitals, aged care centres, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Undoubtedly , within healthcare the primary objective is patient care and to ensure that the most appropriate and safe health diagnosis is provided to the patient. We constantly hear about health and medical malpractice issues, and it is vital as an allied health professional you speak up both verbally and in writing about these matters. Thereby if your employment has been terminated because you have raised legitimate healthcare concerns then contact Richard Aslanian from Connect Legal to further discuss your matter.
Yes to each and every circumstance that you perceive that your employer is flagrantly breaching the Corporations Act, The Australian Consumer and Competition Laws and or any industry specific laws and regulations. Indeed we understand the ramifications to your employment and we have heard many times " that I will lose my job if I speak up". However the more appropriate question is if I do not speak up , remain silent, others may get physically, financially and emotionally disadvantaged and hurt. Corporations have to understand they not only have obligations to shareholders, but many other stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, regulators, and the general public. The notion of corporate social responsibility is firmly entrenched within our workplaces and thereby it is essential you speak up verbally and in writing when you perceive your employer has intentionally impinged on the rights of all stakeholders.
Indeed there may be credible grounds to demonstrate you have been dismissed for exercising your workplace rights pursuant to the Fair Work Act, Australian Consumer Competition Law and Corporations Law. However, what is essential that you have formalised your workplace complaints in writing to management and or kept detailed notes. Indeed your former employer will allege it was a legitimate redundancy, but the timing is very interesting considering your exercised very serious workplace rights and complaints.
Medical devices companies have very important legal obligations pursuant to the TGA and the Work Health and Safety Act, whereby they have to ensure their medical devices comply with the applicable TGA operating standards. Indeed under the TGA, medical device companies have to self report any malfunctioning products. In your circumstances, if the company's medical devices are faulty, they have not self reported and you have exercised workplace rights about these faulty products, then there is a positive correlation your employment was because you exercised your workplace rights.
There is no question theft is a major criminal breach and this a serious breach of the Corporations Act whistle blowing provision. We understand your concerns regarding your job and please contact Connect Legal for personal advice. But one thing is for sure the criminal conduct needs to stop.
There is no question you have exercised your whistle blowing rights and hence lost your job. A redundancy is the easier way to get rid of any employee in any corner of the world. Corporations have their obligations to shareholders to maximise their wealth and hence when they see a whistle blowing who hinders their growth, as they say out the door she goes. Please ring our office to better ascertain your rights under the Corporations Act 2001.
There is no question you have exercised your whistle blowing rights and hence lost your job. A redundancy is the easier way to get rid of any employee in any corner of the world. Corporations have their obligations to shareholders to maximise their wealth and hence when they see a whistle blowing who hinders their growth, as they say out the door she goes. Please ring our office to better ascertain your rights under the Corporations Act 2001.
Well done for speaking up and I totally agree with you that the deep and sinister reason he asked you to leave was because you spoke up about breaches of the Taxation laws. Our office receives many calls from overseas students who have been fired to be placed on the books and it is refreshing from someone within the business to speak about their plight and what illegal activities are occurring. Please contact Connect Legal for a detailed and confidential discussion.
Please place all your concerns in writing to your employer and outline in details which supplier said what and which customer has been complaining about delivery times. As they say the pen and paper is mightier than anything else, and yes it may affect your employment, but think about the other stakeholders like the customers who have trusted you with tens of thousands of dollars and only to be duped around for six plus months.
We regularly receive calls from employers within the building and construction industry and the conduct of your employer is not uncommon. Employers must provide a payslip as required by the Fair Work Act, specifying your hours of work, your pay rate, your gross pay, the tax paid and your net pay. Connect Legal and its team of solicitors have prosecuted countless adverse action matters in the Federal Circuit Court and recovered fair and reasonable compensation. Please contact our office for a face to face discussion.
As a credit controller, one of the fundamental issues is t ensure the credit you approve for any business, organisation or an individual so within their financial means and serviceability. Over lending to clients when you know they are unable to service those loans is a serious breach of corporate and financial laws and there could be serious implications for the organisation and maybe even yourself.
We understand management has called you in and raised performance issues, but rest assured this is all about you raising ethical issues and breaches of credit laws.
Please keep detailed diary notes and if your employment is terminated, please ring out office for immediate help.
There is no question you have exercised your whistle blowing rights and hence lost your job. A redundancy is the easier way to get rid of any employee in any corner of the world. Corporations have their obligations to shareholders to maximise their wealth and hence when they see a whistle blowing who hinders their growth, as they say out the door she goes. Please ring our office to better ascertain your rights under the Corporations Act 2001.
There is no question you have exercised your whistle blowing rights and hence lost your job. A redundancy is the easier way to get rid of any employee in any corner of the world. Corporations have their obligations to shareholders to maximise their wealth and hence when they see a whistle blowing who hinders their growth, as they say out the door she goes. Please ring our office to better ascertain your rights under the Corporations Act 2001.
This is a case of you exercising your workplace rights pursuant to s 340 of the Fair Work Act and the Work Health and Safety Act (NSW) 2011. The client welfare issues that you have raised strike at the heart of the Respondent’s social welfare model in that they have to safeguard their client’s rights and investigate any fundamental breaches of the services provided and their wellbeing.
Yes, HR has called you in and has raised a flimsy excuse to terminate you, but deep down it is because of your workplace rights. Connect Legal can conduct extensive phone discussions and if need be come closer to your home for a face to face interview. There are a number of applications we can lodge such as an unfair dismissal claim or an adverse action claim and all the work will be undertaken on a no win no fee basis.
Connect Legal for over decades has diligently and quietly defended and safeguarded our client's employment and discrimination rights. The word " fight" conjures up images of undue stress and complexities and we wholeheartedly condemn the use of this word in legal literature. Connect Legal's philosophy is about defending and safeguarding client rights, which required discipline, diligence and extensive tea work. Yes results make take more time, but the landmark judgements we have obtained within the owner driver area, sham contracting, disability discrimination were because of our unique philosophy. Please see our judgement page.
Our legal services will be undertaken on a No Win No Fee basis as has been the case from inception when we commenced defending employee rights in the late 90s. We will provide a written costs agreement outlining our No Win No Fee policy and will provide an estimate of the applicable fees.
